Following a tough loss to Gilles Muller in the fourth round yesterday, 2-time champion Rafael Nadal sounded off on Wimbledon for putting the same players on Centre Court. Nadal, who lost to Muller on Court 1, played two of his four matches on Centre while rivals Roger Federer and Andy Murray were on Centre for all four of their matches. And that didn’t sit well with Rafa.

“I like playing more on Centre Court,” Nadal said. “Someone has to play on Centre, and it’s almost always the same players here. This is the reality. Here, there are many of us who have won a lot in our careers, who have a lot of important history behind us.

“A tournament that wants to be as traditional and as special as Wimbledon has to distribute the number of matches scheduled on Centre Court and that not always the same people play there, and when there are doubts, the others are sent to other courts.”

Federer is of course a 7-time winner and Murray is the local hero.

Nadal hasn’t made the Wimbledon quarterfinals since 2011 when he reached the final. The Spaniard will take a few weeks off before his next scheduled event at the Canadian Open on August 7.

The loss also leaves Nadal behind Murray in the chase for No. 1, but Rafa has plenty of time to make up the gap.

That’s alright champ!…Just move on!..what’s the use of complaining about something that we know it will never happen..besides IMHO there’s not much different between CC and Court 1…Court 1 also very big and can fill many supporter’s…and there’s plenty of support last nite…but still win didn’t come…So,unless they’re put u on court 18..i’ll say let’s forget everything..go home,take plenty of rest and prepare for NA HC swing..there’s plenty to work still especially on the mental aspect…Vamos Rafa!!

Oh That’s why he lost – unhappiness with Court No 1 and the bash on his head while warming up. So now we know: nothing at all to do with the relentless attack of Muller, or his flashing passes on either flank, or the swooping volleys of weak returns off his thunderous serves. Nothing at all. It would help anyone to stop whining and show a little grace. Nadal is no exception. It was sad to see him shake hands first with the referee and the cursory handhake he gave Muller before hurrying off. A little class would do much to improve anyone’s image.

Hehe…Yeah Dani!..You’re absolutely right!!…I have an image in my mind now…all of them are 70 years old…and still playing tennis..and Roger still shakenly ‘allezing’ his shots on CC..and Rafa and Novak also shakenly ‘vamosing’ and ‘ajdeing’ slowly on Court 1 still!!…Oh!What a poor sight!!

I also can imagine their conversation now…”vafa..u sherve!…oh!okay Nole buddhy!…but[uhuk!uhuk!]…i forgot how to sherve…u sherve firsht!…oh!dhamn!…i porgot too!…ermm…i thank we just go home and shleep then!”…and they’re walk very slowly[1km/per day],shakenly out of Court 1..hand in hand towards their destination..and that’s my ridiculous story of the 2 amazing warriors in their golden years Dani!!…Hahaha!..woohoo!!

I wonder where that fake Fed ‘love’ for Nadal came from.
It clearly was for Fed’s fake image and brainwashing of new fanboys.
They don’t like each other because Fed gets special treatment even when he loses tons of matches to old men & 19 year olds.

Federer has paid his dues. Those who watched Federer 11 to 13 years ago might remember the poor scheduling of courts given to multiple-slam winner No. 1 Federer in those early years in most of the grand slams.

In response to what happened at the 2006 US Open, Frank Deford (one of America’s greatest sportswriters) wrote in Sports Illustrated: “Federer: If It’s Not Our Star And Our Sport, U.S. Just Doesn’t Care…. when Federer, the defending champion, four-time Wimbledon winner, played a key match at the U.S. Open a couple of weeks ago, the U.S. Tennis Association put him on the lounge court (Armstrong), while scheduling an American, James Blake, in the stadium (Arthur Ashe). Blake, to use that wonderful British word, is a “useful” player; Federer may be the greatest artist in the history of his sport. But Federer’s slighting is what’s to be expected here. How strange that we are such a narrow, jingoistic sports country — we, this cherished land of immigrants. If the U.S. Tennis Association was in charge of music instead of tennis, Placido Domingo would be singing at a suburban Ramada Inn piano bar while Snoop Dogg worked Lincoln Center. Gee, even (Tiger) Woods dared root for Federer.”

Despite this, Federer never complained when he was asked at the post-match press conference: “Question: How hard is it for a player of your stature to be on the smaller Armstrong court?”
Roger Federer: “No, I mean, I enjoy it. It used to be center court after all. It’s not like this court is, you know, dirt or anything. It’s a great court, you know, with great atmosphere. I’ve had some great matches over there early in my career, you know, against Ferrero. Played Chang there also one night, I remember. That was great. I’ve had some good experiences playing over there. You know, I don’t think I’ve played much over there the last couple years, so for me it was good fun to play there again.”

“Q. Just for fun: Who would win a boxing match between you and Nadal?”
Federer: “We not physical, the tennis players. We don’t like to touch each other” (laughing).

Tony N,
USO does not compare to Wimbledon where weather conditions play a huge part in scheduling and player performance. Nole was de facto screwed up last year when as a two time defending champion he was put on court #1 on a day that was known to be rainy.

Amazing how the court assignments weren’t a problem at the French Open when he was playing all of his matches on Phillippe Chartier and other top seeds where shuffled off to the #1 court. The fact of the matter is – Roger’s a bigger draw at Wimbledon than Nadal is. So is Andy Murray. So shut it, Nadal. The day you, the winningest man in Roland Garros history, play 6 of your 7 Roland Garros matches on Court #1 is the day you can start complaining about Wimbledon court assignments for the winningest male player in Wimbledon history. You haven’t been in the 2nd week but 1 time in the last 6 years, so shut your pie hole.